Braulio Dueño Colón (March 26, 1854 – April 4, 1934) was a Puerto Rican musician and composer.

Early years

Dueño was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. At a young age Dueño's father, who also loved music, taught him the basics of music and served as his inspiration. Dueño took music classes with "Maestro" Aruti, with whom he learned about composition and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

. When an opera or

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

company visited Puerto Rico, they would hire a local orchestra to play their musical scores. When Dueño was a young man he would be hired to play the flute in many of these orchestras.Braulio Dueño Colón
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Musical career

In 1879, he composed the music for the zarzuela " Los Baños de Coamo" ("The Baths of Coamo") which was originally written by Genaro de Arazamendi, in honor of the hot springs in the town by the same name. Dueño participated in many literary-musical contests in the Ateneo Puertorriqueño. He won many prizes and honors for his compositions. Among the pieces honored were: * ''La Amistad'' (''Friendship'', an

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

), 1877; * ''Sinfonía Dramática'' (''Dramatic Symphony''); * ''Noche de Otoño'' (''An Autumn Night''), 1887; * ''Estudio sobre la Danza Puertorriqueña'' (''A Study of the Puerto Rican Danza''), 1914. However, it was the series of ''Canciones Escolares'' (School Songs, 1912), which were co-written with Virgilio Dávila and Manuel Fernández Juncos, that would give him lasting recognition as one of Puerto Rico's greatest composers. The ''Canciones Escolares'' not only won the highest honors in the Ateneo but was also acclaimed and honored at the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a world's fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park–Front Park System, Delaware Park, extending ...

of 1901. The ''Canciones Escolares'' became an important part of Puerto Rican culture.

Later years

Braulio Dueño Colón lived most of his life in the city of Bayamón, where he died on April 4, 1934. The city of Bayamón honored the memory of Braulio Dueño Colón by naming a school, a suburb and the municipal cemetery after him. He was buried at the Braulio Dueño Colón Municipal Cemetery.

Early years

Musical career

Later years

See also

References

External links